The Final Stand
The Final Stand is the first major chapter of The Last Stand. with the main characters Blackheart, Vorendon, Krahkus, and Nidherac. Prologue Vampros Magna A dark figure was sprinting through the shadows towards a large building in the distance, searching for one of his fallen rulers. Drindak, Teridax's messenger, headed for the once great capital of his empire. A tall Makuta was waiting, rather impatiently, in the stronghold's courtyard. Drindak slowly approached the shadowed figure. : "I see you've returned." said the shadowed being, "Have you found it?" "Of course, anything to please you, master." replied Drindak, handing the Makuta a mysterious stone. : "You have been useful to me these past few years, and I would like to show my gratitude through a gift." "What would this 'gift' be?" asked Drindak. Suddenly, a blade sprung from the Makuta's arm, which soon impaled Drindak straight through the chest. THUD! The now deceased Drindak lay in the shadow of the Makuta. "How pathetic, Teridax should not have recruited such weak fools for his work" With that, the makuta vanished in a flash of lightning, leaving behind only sinister laughter carried in the wind. Chapter 1- A Journey's Beginning Bara Magna, 6 months later A flash of light brightened the skies of the wastelands. A canister, about the size of any toa canister, fell through the air, burning as approached the sand. BOOM!!!! The object hit, sending molten sand and shards of glass flying everywhere. The newly-formed crater spanned about half a mile in every direction from the red hot container. Two Skrall emerged from a nearby sand dune. Shaken up and scared out of their wits from the massive impact, they cautiously made their way towards the canister. now curious, they began to inspect it, one crawled on top and tried to pry open the lid, the other one looked around the blast site. BANG! The two Skrall jumped backward, surprised. The noise came from inside the canister. BANG! This time it was even louder, the Skrall began to slowly back away. KABOOM!!!!!! The two Skrall were suddenly engulfed in red energy, reducing them to nothing but charred black skeletons and molten armor. Out of the smoke stepped a young Makuta, appearing around eighteen or nineteen, although probably much older. He stumbled away from the smoldering wreckage of the canister that has kept him alive as he plummeted towards the desert. With no memory of his past, the Makuta, known to most as Blackheart, left the scene as Vorox showed up to investigate. Blackheart has been wandering the desert for quite some time, trying to think to himself, trying to remember something before he stepped out of the metal container. The only thing he could remember was the name Teridax" appearing in his mind over and over. Blackheart looked up and saw a dark figure standing atop a sand dune, but it quickly vanished behind the shadow of night. Blackheart continued on through the endless desert, hoping to find civilization, a village, a simple sign of life, anything... but all he could see were the rising sand dunes and the stars in the sky. Suddenly, a series of noise caught his ear, as if something slipped in the sand. Blackheart got an immediate feeling of being watched. He made his way around a sand dune, carefully, he could almost feel the life of another being standing on the other side. Blackheart took a step, and out of nowhere a dark mass came up and attacked him. The next thing he knew, Blackheart had a large, spiked club at his throat. "Who are you, wanderer, and why do you intrude our territory?" Silence... "I said WHO ARE YOU!!!" "I don't know." "You don't know?" said the dark being, "and why is that?" "I don't know." said the startled Blackheart. "If you do not know your business here, then you're a tresspasser, and tresspassers are punished by death!" The being yelled. The next moment was a blur. Blackheart couldn't see what was going on, all he knew was that one moment the being raised their club to strike, the next they were on the ground with a sword at their throat, his sword. The being spoke through heavy breath. "Who are you, stranger, and how did you do that?" "All I know is that my name is Blackheart, otherwise, I do not remember." "Well then, Blackheart, come with me, you may be of help." the dark being said. They run off into the desert ***** Early the next day, a lone Glatorian wandered the endless wastelands. Gladius, known by many as one of the greatest fighters of all time. He is the only one who has avoided the disease that has plagued the sand tribes for so many years. He was in search of the other great villages of his homeworld. He came to a tall sand dune, a large caress of sand blew off the top and through the black and yellow crevices in his armor. He was used to this, the sand, more than the other Glatorian who have come to call this planet "home". The others seem to hate the sand, while Gladius has taken a liking to it. He had a sort of respect for everything that Mata Nui had bestowed on their world. Others thought of it as "barren", Gladius thought of it as "magnificent". A flash of blue light suddenly filled the sky, followed by a powerful shockwave that knocked back thousands of pounds of sand, along with Gladius, to the ground. The startled Gladius stood up, expecting to see another asteroid that fell from it's orbit What he saw was something that would change his life forever. A ship, a massive ship at least a mile long, lay in the sand a few hundred feet away. He began walking towards the ship. ***** If you asked any of the Agori or Glatorian of the large asteroid that was so commonly seen circling Spherus Magna, you would get the same response, "What? That hunk of rock? There's nothing up there." Of course, noone bothered to look closely enough to see the giant metal spikes sticking out of the heavily cratered surface. Resting in its core lies a truly powerful threat. Miles benteath the surface of this asteroid is a civilization, thought to have been lost for generations. Argokus Magna, a world destroyed by the very star that gave it life, for centuries, the Centurians believed that their old capital and its people were killed, but that was all but true. In a dark room somewhere in the heart of the asteroid "Worthless!!" a voice echoed inside the dark metallic walls, "They thought they could handle it, but they failed yet again!" His red eyes piercing the darkness, a tall figure stood at the foot of a chair. A second voice, this one deeper, spoke up through the black. "Patience, Barakus, your time is near." "Who was that? I demand a name!" "Do I need to explain myself. Who was the shadow that led you to your glory? Who kept you alive while the others perished in flames upon the destruction of your home? Who has the power to restart this universe in our image?" "Father, what is your bidding?" "Go to the planet below, find the one known as 'Blackheart' and bring him to the north temple, crush any resistance, leave no survivors." "It will be done." Barakus said. Barakus turned to a nearby door. "SCOLARIS!!" The door opened, revealing another being. "What?" "Ready the armies, it is time to invade." Chapter 2- Discovery “Keep moving!” yelled out the Skrall. Blackheart was sprinting as fast as he could; he he quickly looked back, only to see sharp fangs and dust as they ran through the sand. The creature, whatever it was, was rapidly gaining. Blackheart and the Skrall came to the base of a mountain, at its top was military bunker, awaiting thier arrival. The creature stopped, took one more angry look at Blackheart, and dissappeared as soon as it appeared. “Why is it running away?” asked Blackheart. “The Sand Vipers? They're afraid of Baterra and other creatures that live outside their territory. He won't be followin' us anywhere.” The Skrall replied. : “Why are we here then?” “See that bunker at the top of the mountain? We'll be safe there.” Climbing up the mountian wasn't much of a challenge, but trouble didn’t take long to find them. As soon as they entered the bunker, Blackheart fell through the floor, a gaping hole remained where he stood. : "What happened?!" asked the Skrall. "I don't know, I just fell." : "Well come back up here." Blackheart was about to climb up when something caught his eye, a glow at the end of the small cave. He began to make his way to the strange object. What he saw startled him, a skeleton, around the size of a Toa, was leaning against the cave wall, the bones were covered in scratches and bite marks, suggesting a rahi attack. In one hand was a deep purple stone; the source of the strange light, in the other was a rusty sword. Blackheart went and picked up the glowing stone, which glowed even brighter in his hand. As he was observing it, Stronius appeared next to him. “What happened here?” “I don’t know.” Replied Blackheart. : “Did you know this being?” asked Stronius. “No, but I feel strange, like I’ve seen him before, in a dream.” Blackheart picked up the sword, and then the strangest thing happened, the sword began to heat up and emit shadows. “What’s going on?!” Blackheart yelled. The heat was becoming so intense that Blackheart dropped the sword; even the sand around it was beginning to melt. All of the sudden, the shadow cleared and the sword was beginning to cool. Blackheart picked it up again. “How did this happen?” asked Blackheart. “I don’t know. Look, what’s happening to you’re other sword?” Blackheart felt by his waist, he could feel his sword there, but it was crumbling to dust in it’s hilt. Until all that was left was an empty hilt. “I guess this skeleton’s weapon belongs to me now.” Said Blackheart. BANG!!!!! “Let us head back up, we have uninvited guests.” Said Stronius. When they got out of the tunnel, all was silent. BANG!!! This time the room started to shake. Another BANG, and another, and another, each time hitting more violently. Finally, the door shattered in a cloud of dust, revealing a battering ram. Out of the dust stepped another Skrall, this one larger than Stronius, with a heavy mace and a large shield. This one walked quietly over to Stronius. “Trying to escape again, are we?” said the mysterious Skrall, “This time we have company.” The Skrall pointed towards Blackheart, and two smaller Skrall stepped out of the dust and grabbed Blackheart’s arms. “You shouldn’t have tried to escape again, Vorendon, now I’ll have the pleasure of killing you myself, along with your friend.” Said the Skrall. “But I think I’ll start with your friend.” “Wait, Azaelus! You can’t…” Before he could finish the sentence, Azaelus was bringing his club down on Blackheart, He braced himself, but his mask somehow formed a shield around him, deflecting Azaelus’ weapon, but it appeared to also make the weapon more powerful. Azaelus was thrown back a few feet. “Told ya’.” Said Vorendon. “Blackheart shouldn’t be messed with.” Azaelus angrily struck Vorendon on the head, knocking him out. Blackheart, filled with rage, threw the two Skrall restraining him away. He then kicked Azaelus in the chest. Azaelus lay on the ground, his eyes blurred from the pain. He turned to see Blackhearts sword at his throat. “Go ahead, kill me, inferior being. I’ve got nothing else to live for.” Blackheart lowered his sword. “What?” said Azaelus. “You’re not worth the fight,” said Blackheart, “now leave.” “There will be a next time, creature, you’d better watch yourself.” The Skrall left, along with his minions, leaving Blackheart and Vorendon alone ***** The Glatorian made his way down the sand dune towards the massive vessel. Smoke, sand, and pure energy filled the air around Gladius. A haze of blue light glowed in the sky. As he approached the strange vehicle, he could barely make out mysterious letters engraved on the ship's hull. A1771 VERU NUI. "Veru Nui", a name that escaped Gladius' knowledge, was, in fact, a military vehicle, the largest Matoran built vehicle ever constructed, a weapon designed to destroy its enemy quickly. Nothing about this vehicle was known to anyone on Spherus Magna, only that it appeared instantaneously and without warning. Soon after, many other ships began to appear in blue flashes across the sky. An event that could be thoght of as an invasion. Bara Magna has thought of alien life in other places of the universe, but for it to be appearing above the planet would frighten even the bravest of warriors, except for Gladius, who decided to investigate even closer. On the massive hull of Veru nui opened a door, out of which came two beings. One of them tall, with mixed blue and green colored armor and arms that could rip through Glatorian armor. The other one was short, around the size of a small Agori, and a strange helmet that seemed...mechanical. Thousands of other beings began pouring out of the hundreds of vehicles that appeared from the sky, and thousands more, an endless ocean of blue and green spanned across the desert. To be continued Characters In order of appearance Category:User:Crp11 Category:Stories Category:The Last Stand Category:Stories